three lunatics, clearly you can find a way to move on, too. >> what? >> okay. that does it for "the cycle." it's all yours. >> s.e. cupp, everyone knows we love so. thanks so much. good afternoon. it's tuesday, november the 20th, and it's been two weeks since the election and many on the right are still stuck in the second stage of grief. anger. ♪ >> how vial. >> if you're looking for free stuff, vote for the other guy. >> they didn't believe romney was on their side. >> wait, mary katherine, wait. >> the proven political strategy. >> this was about money. there are a few kooks with the abortion craziness and the gay marriage. >> when you're in a hole, stop digging. >> all these republicans are so upset over my description of all this as santa claus. >> very fashionable now to beat up romney. >> romney was timid. >> romney doesn't exist.

romney is persona non grata. i can't believe how mean they're bog to mitt romney. >> i'm a balloon boy. we have not followed that story like we have. >> you have an announcement to make. >> we wish congressman murphy, i like him very well. >> your opinions is ludicrous. >> wait. we begin as hopes rise for a cease-fire in the middle east with negotiations continuing and with secretary of state hillary clinton just arrived in tel a v aviv. we will bring you much more on the situation as it develops. and two weeks since his resounding re-election, the president is on board air force one returning to washington from east asia. he's just wrapped up a tour in which he juggled multiple complex issues, including

efforts to broker that cease-fire in the middle east, encouraging early signs of democracy in burma, and, of course, a budget battle at home. but for the president's opponents, it's not two weeks since the election nor two months to the inauguration. no, it's the countdown to the end of the world. a disheveled mitt romney has surrendered the romney bus gassing up his car to ride off into the sunset. or maybe just park in the car elevator and ride up and down a few times humming "born free" gently to himself. but others, well, they just can't let it go. >> american society is dependent on a giant federal nanny. >> governor chris christie slobbering wet kiss on obama's cheek. >> the left is going to scream when you say that. >> he was making out with the president. >> how vial. he got to meet bruce springsteen. it's no reason for him to turn into chris farley. >> the 30,000 crew didn't believe romney was going to help

them. >> hobby lobby is not a church and is not a religious organization so they're going to have to provide free birth control. >> there are a few ckooks who with the abortion craziness and the gay marriage that became an important thing. i shouldn't call them kooks. >> no, shouldn't call them kooks. that would be the woman who allegedly ran down her husband with her car for not voting for mr. romney. well, how about the kooky "wall street journal" which named chief justice john roberts liberal man of the year along with lena dunham, who is not a man. details, details. did we mention hobby lobby which tried to claim it was a religious organization to avoid covering employees' birth control. i'm afraid a federal judge ruled bedazzling kits are not a religion, at least not yet. the real kooks are those gearing up for the apocalypse on december 21st. >> my countdown to doomsday.

>> okay. i am going to need a real check. let's bring in our panel, msnbc political analyst jonathan alter, columnist for the bloomberg view and an author. msnbc political analyst professor michael irkchael iraq dyson. the only reason the president won re-election according to mr. o'reilly is because he drove around the country throwing dollar bills to anyone who would vote for him. that's right, isn't it? >> i don't know if that happened, but i know the president stripped down them to a bare essence and the bare essence as he made it rain on their heads was the fact they had no particular agenda that was saleable to the american public. now they're looking for excuses. isn't it interesting -- >> no, no, no, he gave them free stuff. he gave them the government. he gave them health care. he gave them the air to breathe. he gave them free stuff. >> wow, he sounds like a birth

narrative from the bible because obama seems to be progenitor of the entire universe for those who are locked out. but i'll tell you this, what's interesting is they're looking for excuses. they're saying obama gave away the county store, so to speak. what he did was reinforced the practical agenda of democracy. that's the american government. there are no gifts. there are no extras. there are no goodies here. and i think the inability of the republicans to be gracious in the face of defeat shows that they're not truly committed as patriots to the broader project of making this country move forward. they're more narrowed and bigoted in their own beliefs. the president is the president of the united states of america. e pluribus unum, out of many, one. bill o'reilly has to get on board and so does rush limbaugh. if they don't, they'll be left behind. >> the president referred to

mitt romney suffering with something he called romnesia. it appears a number of people are now suffering with dementia following the result of the election. >> i'm going to be a little more charitable. they're in denial. you could argue this is kind of -- >> but it is two weeks, john. >> the death rattle -- >> mitt romney was beaten. >> right. what always gets me, and we've talked about this in several different contexts over the last several months, is the hypocrisy. essentially the structure of government largess we have in this country is the primary beneficiaries of that largess are whom? the elderly who voted overwhelmingly for mitt romney. they get more gifts -- >> and who spent their lives paying into the social safety net. >> they get more and they get more than they paid in, by the way, much more, most of them. if they live long enough. they voted for mitt romney. they're the ones who are getting

the bulk of the gifts that society bestows, not the children, the elderly. the other beneficiary, red states. this can be started out very easily. you can look in terms of which states pay the most in taxes versus which get back the most from washington. the states that pay the most that send the most of their money to washington are like new york, california, blue states. the states that get the gifts are the states that voted for mitt romney. >> professor, i guess i should also be consoling you specifically since you must have voted for mitt romney because you work at an elite academic institution and i believe you earn more than $30,000 a year. so you can't have voted for mr. free stuff. you must have voted for mitt romney. >> of course. i'm from michigan as well. i went to the same high school and his father was governor. so there's more damning evidence

of my political pedigree. i think that what jonathan alter said is extremely important here. the very people who are talking about others being on the dole, no disrespect to the former republican leader, those who claim that people are not doing -- carrying their fair share, the very people who make these claims are the ones who receive the bounty. those are the people who disproportionately benefit from the laregess of the government. this kind of demonization of the other, younger people, african-americans, latinos and so on who got the gifts, no we didn't. who got the gifts continue to be corporate chieftains of america, that's who make $250,000 and above and those who have extraordinary incomes tied to wealth that's linked to conservative agendas. those are the people who made out like fat cats. the vast majority of americans have to struggle for what they have. they have to earn it and thank

god they have a protector in the white house who understands that. >> i was just going to add that the more bill o'reilly and his ilk do this, the better it is for democrats over the long run because we've just seen what happened when the voters -- they had a straight up makers versus takers choice. they were familiar with these arguments. it's not like we're just hearing this for the first time. the voters rejected this. this is the death rattle of the old conservative media order. they can keep going down this road. they can keep making these arguments. they are talking to themselves, martin. if they want to win elections, they have to look deeply into their souls as we've just heard. they must come up with something that sells better with the american people. >> professor dyson, i can understand that after such a pulverizing defeat one does tend to nurse one's wounds, but how is this helpful to the

republican party for their wealthy supporters to be despising and blaming people who earn less than $30,000 describing them as grifters and parasites? how is that helpful as john alter just said to their political prospects into the future? >> it's not helpful at all. to bring an analysis you gave and jonathan alter laid it out very clearly before us, the reality is these people are kvetching, they're belly aching -- >> i like the yiddish. >> they're incapable of understanding what's going on with the broader agenda of america democracy and here is the real deal. people with far less do far better and far more with what they have than those who have a whole bunch. even if the bible that they love to quote, jesus said those who have been given stuff and can't make use of it will have what little they have taken away from them. the reality is the republicans had an enormous universe of affection and goodwill given to

them by people who actually don't even share their interests. the 47% that mitt romney was beating up on, a lot of these people voted for him. a lot of white women voted for mitt romney. a lot of the people in the red states voted for mitt romney and received the benefits. what are you complaining about? you're complaining about your mirror. shatter the mirror, look out into the real world, look through the window of reality that most of us have to grapple with, and then you get closer and more intimate with the kind of facts that will allow you to win another election in the future. >> absolutely. professor michael eric dyson and john alter, thank you both. we want to take you live to jerusalem where secretary of state hillary clinton is speaking right now. >> i know today was a difficult day, and i offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those who were lost and injured. in the end there is no substitute for security and for a just and lasting peace, and the current crisis certainly

focuses us on the urgency of this broader goal. so in the days ahead the united states will work with our partners here in israel and across the region toward an outcome that bolsters security for the people of israel. improved conditions for the people of gaza and move toward a comprehensive peace for all people in the region. i thank you, prime minister, for your hospitality and look forward to our discussion. >> thank you. >> that was secretary of state hillary clinton who has just arrived in jerusalem speaking with benjamin netanyahu. we will be back in a moment. [ man thinking ] oh, this gas. those antacids aren't working. oh no, not that, not here! [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance

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they voted for --

>> 30,000 -- >> they voted for the fact -- >> what did they vote for, juan? >> i just told you. >> but it played a large part, cultural identification played a large part. >> this was about money. >> that was mr. bill o'reilly desperately trying to get his guests to repeat what he and mitt romney firmly believe, that this election was about the takers and not the makers. sadly, they wouldn't follow his lead. in fact, most republicans have run away from these comments, which is exactly why we must applaud mr. o'reilly because the only other place that you're going to hear republicans express their true feelings about half the country is at fund-raising dinners that cost about $50,000 a plate and often take place in boca. for more now we're joined from tucson, arizona, by jared bernstein, stormer economic advi adviser to the vice president and dana milbank, a political columnist for "the washington post".

jared, if i might begin with you, we don't have time to explain why most civilized countries prefer a progressive system of taxation but haven't they got this upside down? because it was mitt romney who was offering the most free stuff in the form of huge tax breaks and tax cuts for the rich. is that not right? >> you know, you're absolutely right, and one of the kind of impressive things to me about this election was the extent to which his supply side trickle down 20% across the board tax cuts were soundly rejected by a majority of the electorate and even a larger majority in exit polls understood that that's not the way forward. too often we have these discussions about taxes. they're not actually thinking what tacks do in civilized societies. as you mentioned, other countries have figured this out, and we can't afford to fall behind. have you tried to travel around this country lately and looked at the state of our national infrastructure? you think about retirement

security. you think about the need for children to have help against disadvantages, getting to school and accessing higher education. so i like to think -- i thought dana captured the spirit in his piece today, that the kind of grover norquist pledge mentality is really on the run right now. now, i wouldn't say that he's down and out. the guy is slippery, but this idea that you can have asymmetric tax policy, it always goes down, never goes up, is not consistent with modern economies. >> dana, if you can control the size of your head so that it doesn't get too big, you write about the king of tax cuts in your latest piece. i agree, it is magnificent. you speak of grover norquist. he's convinced the president has no mandate to raise taxes on the wealthy. for instance, here is what he told chuck todd at a forum just last thursday. take a listen, dana. >> did win this debate, did he not? >> no. >> he didn't win the debate? >> no. he won the presidency. >> in other words, dana, the

president znd win the debate, only the consolation prize called the presidency. what's your assessment of mr. norquist's political acumen post election? >> gentlemen, i'm blushing from your phrase but the truth is grover norquist make this is extremely easy. he's a one-trick pony. i knew exactly what he's going to say because it's the exact same thing he was saying before the election when he predicted with confidence that mitt romney would win, republicans would take the senate, we would almost instantly have the paul ryan budget implemented with all of the entitlement reforms. now he's carrying right on saying, in fact, the republicans are in a stronger position today and government is on the run more than ever before. look, he has to do this to kind of keep his troops in line. his troops largely being the house republicans. but i heard from republicans on the senate side who are saying, you know, grover is really no longer speaking for the party here. something really has changed and i think this is a rear guard

action he's doing to just kind of slow down the pace of the retreat. >> the thing about it is i have never blamed grover by himself. i mean, he's an opportunistic lobbyist. the people who you kind of blame here are the ones who sign away their democratic, you know, job really by signing the pledge, and when you hear that some of those folks are starting to really back off and do so publicly, that's a very good sign, martin. >> yeah. one almost wonders what on earth they were doing being elected in the first place. was their fealty and commitment and allegiance to the nation or was it to grover norquist. >> exactly right. the idea that this guy has had our fiscal policy hamstrung, it's not just him. it's a -- i think a very wrong-headed approach to fiscal policy that has persuavaded the republican party for years.

when you hear john boehner and mitch mcconnell say we recognize there needs to be new revenues in the deal, that's big. >> very briefly, dana, does grover norquist though still frighten some members of the house? >> oh, he frightens a whole lot of them. that's the thing. there's two-thirds, three-quarters, maybe more of that caucus are the conservative republicans, and jared is right. the problem isn't grover norquist per se. he's an entertaining, happy warrior. the problem is there are people who are following this. there's always going to be a guy like that. the problem is how much power he is. >> the thing about grover is he's going to march in front of the parade. what matters is whether he's going to have troops behind him and some of those troops are peeling off. >> let's hope so. jared and dana millback, thank you, gentlemen, so much. stay with us. much more ahead. oh no, not a migraine now. try this...

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just moments ago secretary of state hillary clinton appeared in jerusalem where she's meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. she told reporters president obama supports the right of israel to defend itself and said the united states can committed to doing everything it can to help bring about a long-term solution to the conflict. nbc's stephanie gosk is live in jerusalem. steph, we're getting reports that hamas is claiming israel has not responded to their proposals and, therefore, there will be no truce this evening. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, we don't have any confirmation on that specifically, but it doesn't seem there's a truce in place. earlier today you had egyptian president mohamed morsi saying there would be a deal tonight. even before this press conference we just wamp watched place. obviously that hasn't happened. two interesting things out of

this press conference. you had secretary clinton talk about a durable solution that brings security and stability not just to israel, but to the region as a whole. you also heard prime minister netanyahu say that he is still open and would prefer a diplomatic solution, a real key sign that these negotiations are still ongoing. >> nbc's stephanie gosk, thanks so much, steph. stay with us. the day's "top lines" are coming up. it's time for the "your business requests "entrepreneur of the week. christine osborne wants you to shop small. the owner of wonder works, a charleston, south carolina, based toy store believes in cooperation instead of competition. she has a section dedicated to locally made products to make sure that her customers' dollars stay local. for more, watch "your business"

sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. medicare open enrollment. time to compare plans and costs. you don't have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. ♪ open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare.

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. from rush on the edge to the great fox hunt, here are today's "top lines." balloon boy, where have you gone? >> merry christmas. i hope you got you in the grab bag. >> here is what is really contemptible. >> the republican party's ground game this year sucked. >> not because the pollsters are

evil partisans. >> all i ever do is inspire people. all i ever do is uplift people. >> i want what i have coming to me. all i want is my fair share. >> i'm going to die in this fleece. >> they're still in turmoil, still without power and what not. snes he's on "saturday night live." >> there were a lot of white devils coming at him all over the place. >> we are fully supportive of israel's right to defend itself. >> if this, god forbid, conflict escalates, it is a sign of american weakness throughout the region. susan rice should have known better, and if she didn't know better, she's not qualified. >> members of the congressional black caucus up in arms and some are even pulling out the race and sexist card. >> i would have stood. >> how vile. how vile. >> judy joule is standing by to

tell us who took terrorists out of it. ♪ let's hear it for the boy let >> hostess is going out of business. borders is going out of business. what about these guys? they're also out of business. >> doesn't matter where the entitlements come from. millions of americans want them. >> i'm a balloon boy. >> oh, my gosh. >> we have not followed that story like we should have. let's get to our panel now. toure is the co-host of the cycle and my msnbc colleague and msnbc contributor jonathan capehart is with us at the "washington post." toure, mr. o'reilly now says that those who make less than $30,000 won this election for the president because they were looking forward to free stuff. is it now the poor who are

destroying what about o'reilly calls traditional america? >> apparently. i'm glad he's so brilliant that he finally figured out the key to why mitt romney lost. it was the poor who unseated one of the richest men in america. talk about david defeating goliath. oh, my god. so happy that happened. look, the gop has been defending the wealthy and attacking the poor for many, many years. do you think they're going to suddenly come home and vote for the gop after all these years of running their business like that? you know, look, it's not about free stuff. we want to protect personal liberty and use government to uplift people, to change their lives in better ways and protect the most -- >> free stuff, free stuff. >> protect the most vulnerable people in america. >> free stuff. >> isn't government supposed to help people? >> no, stre stuff. >> when you talk to them about it, they call it pandering. we call it improving people's lives. >> yeah, free stuff. jonathan, thinks may only get worse for republicans if they've read your column. you point out that every month

for the next 20 years 50,000 hispanics will turn 18 and become eligible to vote. will any of them vote republican? >> well, right now 18% of registered latino voters are republican. 51% are democrats. but if you ask the question based on ideology, 54% of them are conservatives, 39% of them are liberal, and even though 54% of them are conservative, remember, 71% of the latino vote went to president obama. so unless and until the republican party can figure out a way to appeal to the latino community -- >> how about stop insulting people? >> well, i'm getting to that. appeal to latinos without insulting them and also without putting up candidates and people as window dressing, one, and,

two, thinking that the only thing that they need to do to appeal to the hispanic community is to do immigration. >> or say the name marco rubio. >> yes, marco rubio or coming -- >> cruz. >> yes, exactly. >> susana martinez. just say names. >> just say the napejames. >> marco rubio is this new name, this jesus that's going to save the party. you can't just put a brown face on hostile policies and expect people are going to vote against their interests. the other thing is how old is the earth thing? here once again the anti-factual, anti-scientific right coming back. i didn't expect it from marco rubio. i thought he was in the modern world and the real world. no, he too, lives in the alternate reality. >> the conservative entertainment complex, john, keeps coughing up stories like this one on "the daily caller" all about how the homeland security department has a web page which helps new legal immigrants get welfare benefits.

this has sent some people into ap plexy. >> if you want to come to the united states and work and make our nation better while making yourself better, come on. we got legal immigration as marco rubio said. if you're coming here because someone figured out i want to live in america, everything is free in in america, no country in the world says send us your debt beats. >> does that sound like the right tone for republicans to be taking? send us your dead beats? >> no, that's not the right tone at all, not at all. what are we supposed to do -- you notice it's legal immigrants. what are we supposed to do, let them just starve, be homeless, don't help them if they're in trouble? it's this sort of, i don't know, darwinism, if you will, on the conservative right that i think is just corrosive to the overall

republican party, and it will remain a regional party as long as folks like that guy that there keep saying those things without someone stepping up, without a grown-up stepping up and saying enough. >> he's absolutely right. >> send us your dead beats. >> they're looking like a regional party on "the cycle" which airs at 3:00 on msnbc -- >> how many times have i told you not to mention -- >> every single time and then i always do. >> don't complain when you don't come on here again. the map of 1864 the confederacy except for florida and virginia, it's exactly the same. that coalition retains to this day that's the regional party they're becoming. very interesting piece in the new yorker talking about the potential for texas to become blue in the next few cycles, and if that happens, then the democrats start over 270, i think jonathan can do the math in his head, and forget it. then you're just a minority party we would study in political science classes. >> this afternoon you and i were discussing some things that have

been part of this republican campaign and we talked about the jim crow era. >> uh-huh. >> how much of that rhetoric has been as it were reignited this time around. >> it was full of it this time. i think if you look at the bush campaign, the bush years, did he a lot of things badly, but he was embracing of latinos. he wasn't overtly in terms of rhetoric negative toward blacks. i think he took it to a much more subtle level. romney brought it back. he's making birtherism jokes, sending john sununu out in say crazy things, rick santorum saying whatever he said about blah people. so the party was saying this about black people, about brown people, self-deportation, these sort of things. when they're saying it about barack obama, black people and brown people read it as about themselves, that barack obama is not american enough, he's lazy, playing too much golf. >> john? >> the point i was going to jump off something toure said about

president george w. bush. i remember during that campaign every day on the front page of the newspaper there was a picture of george bush hugging a black child, usually a very beautiful black child every day. and it got to the point where it was like what's he communicating? and the communication was, remember, his whole campaign was about compassionate conservatism. >> thank you so much. next, say it ain't so, allen west throws in the towel and the comedy gods are very sad. stay with us. >> let's be very honest and let's put it in some military vernacular. if you're feeding a person a crap sandwich with a smile, it's still a crap sandwich and i think that's what you see coming from president obama. ♪ it's so important to make someone happy ♪ when you give a child a toy,

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you also could rest assured knowing you made an impact immediately as a one-term congressman and we'll see what the sequel is. >> f. scott fitzgerald said there are no second acts in american lives and when it comes to allen west, we can only hope and pray that he's right. the florida congressman who sees reds under the bed has finally conceded defeat in his fight to save his seat in the house. let's bring in msnbc contributor goldie taylor and joy reid who is the managing editor of thegrio.com. joy, i know you're close to tears with regard to the demise of -- why are you laughing? you were close to tears earlier. are you -- why are you laughing as well goldie? >> because i am crying. >> look, are we going to miss a man who described the president's supporters as a threat to the gene pool and also said that democrats in the house are communists? >> absolutely. i mean, i can tell you at the

grio we definitely all were hanging our heads in solemn con tem place of what in the world we're going to do to match allen west's unique brand of -- we won't say insanity. his unique brand of politics. >> his unique brand. goldie, it's worth saying that mr. west did serve in the military, although he also had some problems there, including a mock execution that he carried out. so hation mr. west's ludicrous rhetoric overtaken anything he might have actually given in public service? >> you know, i won't decry his subpick service or his service as a man of the military, but his inability to serve honorably at the end of his enlistment, his inability to serve this country well in the halls of its congress, to serve in a nonembarrassing way to his district is really what i have got to focus on here.

allen west is going away, but the fact is there's going to be another allen west. if we're able to send michele bachmann home, trust and believe there will be another michele bachmann. as we see race and socialization and economic strata all take place, they play themselves out in class warfare, and allen west was just a symbol of that. he allowed himself to be used by the tea party as a symbol to help them advance that cause. and, unfortunately, you know, he got played. and he is going home. >> yes, indeed. joy, another man of unique political genius, joe walsh of illinois, has also lost, and he's going to be going home very soon. does this indicate that the tea party in the house is literally falling apart? >> i think it's interesting because i agree -- allen west was probably the most potent symbol of the tea party because in part because in florida i can tell you he was the tea party. he was their favorite candidate and he embodied all of the

belief systems of the tea party, the idea of shrinking government, the abject hey dread of barack obama who he literally said he can't stand. his ideas were sa none news where the tea party and he and walsh losing is symbolic the tea party having risen so high and taken over the tea parelection. he won in a swing district where he came in with the wave and was washed out in 2012. i think that's symbolic of the tea party's diminished authority in the republican party. >> do you agree that the 60 member tea party caucus which did manage to survive this election, survived with people like michele bachmann, steve king, they're still there, aren't they? >> you know, what i agree with is this, the strength of social populism, from the left and from the right, historically over the context of our nation has risen

and ebbed. they've ebbed and flowed. this is just another receding of the waters. the tea party itself is not dead. the movement itself mismanaged as it were, bad accouncandidate up, but the mood and feeling that the tea party embraced is not dead. if you see another strong economic downturn where race and class and socialization is in play again, you will see it come around again. let's say every 30 years or so. we're not done with the allen wests of the year or the michele bachmanns or even the sharon angels of the world. we're also not done with the bill clintons of of the world and the barack obamas of the world. >> we hear rand paul is talking about not a 30-year run but possibly four years. >> he's still viable. i think it's important to remember that what allen west represented beyond just the tea party was an anti-islamic really

almost jihadism and it took root in south florida. he was very stridently anti-muslim and in a way that was ironic because he is an african-american and he took that to extremes as well. at the end of the day he also voted to raise the debt ceiling. so he wasn't a purist on tea party ideology. he think he represents a lot of the contradictions and a lot of the failings of the extreme right and his having lost even narrowly was a huge symbolic victory for democrats. he was one of the top ten targets for democrats in the 2012 election. his losing has great significance. i agree with goldie that tea party ideology is the republican party's base, it's part of them, but him losing i think was an important movement for tolerance and i think for a more moderate and hopefully more sane form of politics in the gop. >> please tab your tears and your sadness. thank you so much. next, the white house does a delicate dance of diplomacy as some fools rush in. ♪ you are my sunshine, my only sunshine ♪

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the president is on his way back to washington after a three-day trip to southeast asia. he returns just as americans get ready to sit down together for the thanksgiving holiday. the festivities will be followed by a restart to talks with congressional leaders on the so-called fiscal cliff. nbc's kristin welker is live at the white house for us. the president returns to washington after a historic visit to southeast asia. he was the first president to visit myanmar or burma do. does the white house feel it is accomplished some particular goals as far as this trip is concerned? >> reporter: the broader goal of the administration has been to expand its connection, its

interest in asia to shift focus away from iraq, afghanistan. of course, the wars there drawing down. this is the serving as a counterweight to china. as you mention, president obama becoming the first president to visit myanmar. some people criticized him for that saying that they have not made enough progress toward democracy but when president obama spoke to the university there, he was very clear. he hailed the steps they have taken, said more needs to be done. he talked about the fact that political prisoners have been released but said, of course, more political prisoners need to be released. that ethnic tensions there still need to be resolved. but he praised the progress they have made. he also met with, of course, pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi and in addition to that he brought aid, $170 million in u.s. aid. so i think that the white house feels as though it accomplished a lot of the goals that it set out. of course, the president's

attentions were divided to some extend. he was there in asia you as about managing the crisis in the middle east. >> indeed. kristin, once the president has pardoned one turkey and eaten another, he's actually going to go on the road as i understand it with regard to these fiscal cliff negotiations. can you tell us any more about that? >> reporter: senior administration officials say that the president loves to be out amongst the people talking to the people, but it's also a part of selling his policies. it's part of sort of pressuring congress to get the policies that he would like passed enacted. so that will certainly be a part of the tactic he takes after the thanksgiving holiday. we expect him to meet again with congressional leaders. remember, he had that meeting here this past friday. congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle came out, both talked about the importance of cooperation, bipartisan. it surprised a lot of people. the question is now will they be able to actually get something done? i can tell you that

congressional aides are spending this week trying to put some meat on the bobs of tnes of the policies they would like to enact. >> thank you as ever. another note from the white house, we pay tribute to one joseph biden, jr., born 70 years ago today in scranton, pennsylvania. mr. biden has held federal office since 1972 when he was elected senator from delaware at the tender age of just 30. today he's the mischievous straight talking occasionally gaffe-prone 47th vice president of the united states. an amtrak hero who supports his frez and knows a big "f"'ing deal when he sees one. just this weekend he demonstrated his eternal optimism while touring sand's wreckage. proving in his case, three score

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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. it's time now to "clear the air." and although most of us are attracted to scandal, the one involving general petraeus has been hard for anyone to enjoy. a career officer who served for 37 years has earned the respect of the nation, and it's reported that after resigning as head of the cia, general petraeus has expressed deep regret for failing to live up to his own standards. but, in fact, general petraeus now shares something in common with perhaps britain's finest war hero of all time. admiral lord nelson of the royal navy. yesterday a love letter written by lord nelson to his mistress emma hamilton was sold at auction for almost $32,000. the letter which historians say was written sometime between november 1801 and january 1802 marked the birth of their illegitimate daughter soon after the affair had become public.

in the letter lord nelson is unabashed about his affections. my dear lady, i will never retract one syllable i uttered or one thought i fell. never will i sate tamely and see you, my dear friend, neglected or insulted. he then signs the letter, your most sincere and affectionate nelson. lord nelson, who was wounded several times in combat losing an arm and the sight in one eye, provoked further displeasure when upon returning from sea he refused to give up his mistress. he would go on to lead britain's greatest ever naval victory, the battle of trafalgar in 1805 during which lord nelson was shot and killed by a french sniper. such was the gratitude of the nation that in 1840 at the very center of london nelson's column was erected in the middle of trafalgar square. it's a monument to one of britain's most heroic figures but also a reminder that heroes have feet of clay. tempting though it must have